Breakdowns in marriage, domestic abuse, financial breakdown… there are many reasons why women end up being forced out of their homes.

Much is written about social housing and temporary accommodation, but what’s it actually like for the women who end up there?

Italian photographer Cinzia D’Ambrosi has spent three years documenting the lives of six women as part of her project The Other Half.

‘At the end of the year 2015, nearly 100,000 children in England had been made homeless and are without a permanent home’ – Cinzia Ambrosi

Olivia

Olivia was offered a flat away from where she lives (Picture: Cinzia D’Ambrosi)

Olivia is uncertain for her future and that of her child. She has one day left before she has to leave her flat of three years in Hammersmith and Fulham.

She has only been given a date in which a bailiff will claim the keys of her flat back and she will have no place to go to.

On March 15, the day of the eviction, Olivia went to Hammersmith and Fulham council and was offered a flat far away from the area. She is devastated as she has all her support and work in the area.

Linda

Linda received an eviction notice out of the blue (Picture: Cinzia D’Ambrosi)

Linda, originally from Trinidad, is the single mother of a seven-year-old daughter and the main carer of her elderly mother. She has been waiting several years for the Home Office to decide if she can remain permanently in the UK.

Until November 2014 she was living in a small flat that she rented from an uncle.

But, out of the blue, she received a notice of eviction.

Her confused residency situation meant that she was not eligible for housing assistance. She became homeless and then given a hostel room in Southall (2015).

Today, she is living in a temporary accommodation in Tower Hamlets, having to restart her life all over again.

Linda was faced with having to restart her life all over again (Picture: Cinzia D’Ambrosi)

In November 2014, Linda received a notice of eviction. The stress of an eviction particularly on children is great.

She had a long wait to see if she can remain in the UK (Picture: Cinzia D’Ambrosi)

Linda, her mother and daughter have been living in a hostel while the situation is resolved with the Home Office. She gave away most of her belongings as there was no room for them in the hostel. She is receiving help from a law centre to make her case.

‘I don’t have enough money. Everything is on top of you, you do the best you can, face the causes, and plead your case,’ Linda says.

Francesca

Francesca was taken to court over unpaid rent (Picture: Cinzia D’Ambrosi)

After living for six years in a temporary flat in West London, Francesca, a single mum with three children, was unexpectedly given a notice to leave in June 2013.

The morning of the eviction, Francesca said: ‘I have told my children that we are going to wait, we will be fine and we will have a beautiful new home. I cannot bear to tell them the truth.’

Francesca was taken to court by Hammersmith Council in London over, supposedly, an unpaid week’s rent of £26.

It turned out to be more of an attempt at intimidation rather than a collection matter.

Francesca has repeatedly declared before being sent to court that she had never missed a payment. During the court proceedings, the unpaid bill was hardly mentioned but instead, she says, she was told that she had to leave the flat.

She’s been in limbo since 2013 (Picture: Cinzia D’Ambrosi)

‘The children think that they will be going to a nice beautiful home. I cannot bear yet to tell them that we are going to a hostel room, One day, we will be living in a proper home’ – Francesca

Samantha

Samantha has had spurts of sleeping rough when she has no one to turn to (Picture: Cinzia D’Ambrosi)

Samantha is a single mum of three children who became homeless after her landlord gave her an eviction notice.

Samantha has relied on friends and family for support, couch surfing in various homes.

Cinzia D’Ambros

Daniela

Daniela was put into a tiny bedsit (Picture: Cinzia D’Ambrosi)

Daniela is a young single mother. She has been living in a one room ‘flat’ (not the term she would use) with her child following homelessness.

She is waiting for a more permanent and suitable accommodation.

Wish to remain unnamed

‘F’ believes her mental health problems may have been caused by her housing problems (Picture: Cinzia D’Ambrosi)

F is mother of two. She and her children became homeless after her relationship broke down.

Brent Council in London offered her a flat in Newham, a borough on the other side of London. It was meant to be a provisional stay – but F remains in this accommodation although several years have passed.

She has tried hard to be relocated back in Brent because she knows people there and has roots. She believes that the mental health problems she experiences are largely a result of prolonged isolation and the instability of her housing.

She was moved to accommodation on the other side of London to her support network (Picture: Cinzia D’Ambrosi)

Tasha

(Picture: Cinzia D’Ambrosi)

Tasha is 21 years old now. She was 18 when she was made homeless.

She has since been living in this hostel in London. She is still waiting for a place to live.

Despite her situation she has not lost her faith in God and spends a lot of her time praying for help and comfort.